David Bowie 1983-08-14 Inglewood ,Los Angeles ,The Forum – Let’s Dance At The Forum 1983 – (Mike Millard) SQ -9

David Bowie 1983-08-14 Inglewood ,Los Angeles ,The Forum – Let’s Dance At The Forum 1983 – (Mike Millard).
Sound Quality Rating

01. The Jean Genie Intro.flac
02. Star.flac
03. “Heroes”.flac
04. What In The World.flac
05. Golden Years.flac
06. Fashion.flac
07. Let’s Dance.flac
08. Breaking Glass.flac
09. Life On Mars.flac
10. Sorrow.flac
11. Cat People.flac
12. China Girl.flac
13. Scary Monsters.flac
14. Rebel Rebel.flac
15. White Light White Heat.flac
16. Station To Station.flac
17. Cracked Actor.flac
18. Ashes To Ashes.flac
19. Space Oddity.flac
20. Young Americans.flac
21. Fame.flac
22. TVC15.flac
Encore:
23. Stay.flac
24. The Jean Genie.flac
25. Modern Love.flac

Label : No label
Audio Source : Audience recording
Lineage : First generation cassettes via JEMS
Taping Gear : AKG 451E Microphones (CK-1 cardioid capsules) > Nakamichi 550 Cassette Recorder
Taper: Mike Millard
Recording Location: Unknown
Total running time : 1:54:03
Sound Quality : very good. Equals record or radio apart from a slight noise and some dullness.
Attendance : 16.480
Artwork : Yes

Label : No label
Audio Source : audience
Lineage : Cassette
Total running time : 1:47:33
Sound Quality : very good. Equals record or radio apart from a slight noise and some dullness.
Attendance : 16.480
Artwork : Yes

Crowds of film stars and other celebrities had come to the Forum to watch Bowie,and lots of them were also present at the part following the concert,to mention a few: Michael Jacksun, Sissy Spacek,lrene Cara,Henry Winkler,Tom Conti,Prince,Barbra Streisand,Donald Suntherland,Richard Perry,Bette Midler ,Kim Carnes,Mick Fleetwood,Toni Basil,Sally Struthers.
“This town makes me a bit nervous” Bowie said. “They all seem to want a bit of me”.
Living in LA for some 18 months has left him with little less than a trauma. He is still tremendously popular here: these two concerts in the Forum were sold out in a matter of 90 minutes. The Forum tried to persuade him into adding two more nights,but since the tour was more than fully booked this was
impossible.
A lot of audience can be heard on the tape – and a very enthusiastic audience they are. During the band intro Bowie says a few things:

David Bowie, The Forum, Inglewood, CA, August 14, 1983

Our Millard mission marches on with another David Bowie title, this one from the Serious Moonlight tour at the Forum, August 14, 1983. Coincidentally, that just happens to be eight years to the day after last week’s Clapton concert, also at The Forum.

This show is a particular favorite of Jim R’s who recently found his set of first-generation cassettes dubbed for him by Mike himself. We do not have the master cassettes or a DAT transfer of this show, so barring the discovery of more Millard master tapes (rest assured the quest continues), Jim’s first-gen copy is the best known source for Mike’s recording of the show.

As any Bowie collector knows, Serious Moonlight was his first tour in five years and rode the success of his smash album and single of the same name, Let’s Dance. What I love about this tour (which JEMS saw and recorded in Tacoma, WA) is the wide swath of material Bowie performed touching all his biggest hits and singles, but also less likely picks such as “Breaking Glass,” “What In The World,” “White Light, White Heat” and “TVC-15.” A fantastic mix. Also Bowie was in great voice, as you can hear for yourself on “Life On Mars,” “Heroes,” “Sorrow” and my favorite song of the night, the brilliant “Station To Station.”

I’ve yet to hear a weak Serious Moonlight show and this one is no exception. As one can imagine, opening night in LA for this tour would have been a very big deal indeed.

Mike is a little behind his sweet spot to record and in fact his proximity to the PA sounds about the same as his Bowie ’78 recording. Though we are working this time from first-gen copies and not masters, we still get Millard’s trademark full fidelity, with a rich low end and clear highs. Samples provided.

Here’s what Jim R recalled about the Bowie ’83 show:

In opening, I should state that so far I have not found my ticket stub for this show. I do have a handful of stubs that are no longer readable due to heat damage, so it could be one of those. In addition. I did not take any photos, which I typically use to trigger memories of the show. So this is based strictly on my memories from 37 years ago.

Mike and I together attended the David Bowie concert at the Forum on August 14, 1983. We sat on the floor 10-15 rows back on the left side. Definitely behind our “Sweet Spot,” therefore, the sound is not as clear as last week’s Clapton from 2nd row center.

After five years away from touring, Bowie tickets were in extreme high demand. He only played two nights at The Forum, but could have easily sold out seven nights (he did swing back later that year to play Anaheim Stadium). Scalper prices were so high we could only afford 10-15 rows back. Bowie was a mega star thanks to Let’s Dance and MTV.

At this time The Forum had a strict “No Cameras or Recorders” policy. Mike got his equipment in via a payoff to security. My camera equipment was left at home, a sacrifice, so to speak, in order to not bring attention to the two of us. A 35mm SLR camera with a large zoom lens is easily spotted. During the recording, Mike passed the completed tapes to me one by one. If he got busted he would give them blanks.

The show was a lot of fun with Bowie playing songs from all eras. There is one side benefit to attending his concerts, so many beautiful women in attendance, most of which could have been models.

Finding my copy of this show made my day a few weeks back. I thought I had already unearthed all the dubs Mike did for me, with the Bowie show missing in action. Luckily, it was one of several tapes I recently uncovered and shared with JEMS, expanding our list of known Millard recordings to over 300. I look forward to this one getting released.

###

JEMS is proud to partner with Rob, Jim R and Barry G to release Millard’s historic recordings and to help set the record straight about the man himself.

We can’t thank Rob enough for reconnecting with Jim and putting his trust in our Millard reissue campaign. He kept these precious tapes under wraps for two decades, but once Rob learned of our methods and stewardship, he agreed to contribute the Millard DATs and cassettes to the program.

Our gratitude for the work of post-production supervisor mjk5510 is understandably considerable. The whole system grinds to a halt without him.

I can’t recall a period in my lifetime of such strife, helplessness and suffering. I would point out that Bowie’s touring bands from 1974 on were a mix of races and backgrounds, reflecting what used to be an American ideal: The Melting Pot. Music transcends and unites. Be like Bowie: support inclusivity.

Lastly, cheers to the late, great Mike the MICrophone. His work never ceases to impress. May he rest in peace.

BK for JEMS

David Bowie Tour band 1983 – The Serious Moonlight World Tour :
• David Bowie – lead vocals, guitar, saxophone
• Earl Slick – guitar
• Carlos Alomar – guitar, backing vocals, music director
• Carmine Rojas – bass guitar
• Tony Thompson – drums, percussion
• Dave Lebolt – keyboards, synthesizers
The Borneo Horns:
• Steve Elson – saxophones
• Stan Harrison – saxophones, woodwinds
• Lenny Pickett – saxophones, woodwinds
Backing vocals
• George Simms – backing vocals
• Frank Simms – backing vocals• Frank Simms – backing vocals